Scarlett Johansson Defends Her Right To Play Any Person, Tree, Or Animal

By Hayden Brooks

July 15, 2019

Scarlett Johansson is having some issues expressing herself to the press. After coming under fire in 2018 for being cast to play trans gangster Dante "Tex" Grill in the upcoming film, Rub & Tug, the actress "decided to respectfully withdraw" and tried to explain her side, but her clarification didn't do much. In a recent interview with As If magazine, she spoke on the backlash once again, but it still didn't resonate the way she probably had hoped.

"Today there’s a lot of emphasis and conversation about what acting is and who we want to see represent ourselves on screen," the 34-year-old titan said in an excerpt, which was obtained by Daily Mail. "You know, as an actor I should be able to play any person, or any tree, or any animal, because that’s my job and the requirements of my job."

“There are a lot of social lines being drawn now, and a lot of political correctness is being reflected in art," Hollywood's highest-paid actress continued. "I feel like it’s a trend in my business and it needs to happen for various social reasons, yet there are times it does get uncomfortable when it affects the art because I feel art should be free of restrictions. I think society would be more connected if we just allowed others to have their own feelings and not expect everyone to feel the way we do."

In a statement to Variety, Johansson said that her remarks were "edited for click bait and widely taken out of context." "The question I was answering in my conversation with the contemporary artist, David Salle, was about the confrontation between political correctness and art," she explained. "I personally feel that, in an ideal world, any actor should be able to play anybody and Art, in all forms, should be immune to political correctness. That is the point I was making, albeit didn’t come across that way."